Rafael Benítez openly defied Liverpool's American owners at Newcastle on Saturday, having discovered they no longer share his confidence that he can deliver the Premier League title.

The Liverpool manager, who won two Spanish titles and the Uefa Cup with Valencia and has lifted the FA and European Cups in England, is on borrowed time at Anfield having reacted furiously to doubts by Tom Hicks and George Gillett that he is the man to end the club's 18-year run without the league title next May.

At St James' Park, Benítez ignored Hicks' orders to cease talking about transfer policy in public. "They don't understand the transfer window in Europe," he said after their 3-0 victory. In doing so, he exacerbated the divisions and continued agitating for a P45 that, should it arrive within his current contract, would do so with a £6m pay-off.

Benítez, whose side remain unbeaten in the Premier League and who retains the backing of Liverpool's supporters, opted to continue on the offensive against the Americans following their refusal to back his January transfer plans and the £17m permanent signing of Javier Mascherano. Hicks and Gillett have made it clear they expect more from last summer's recruits but it is their suspicion over Benítez's ability to wrest the title from Manchester United that ignited the Spaniard's ire. The manager now believes he has nothing to lose by confronting the tycoons in public and is prepared to make life as difficult for them as possible during what remains of his time at the club.

Liverpool's co-chairmen issued their second statement in four days last night when they dismissed reports that a decision had already been taken to sack Benítez and approach Jose Mourinho to be his successor. But they stopped short of giving the Spaniard unequivocal support and are prepared to leave him stewing until they next visit for the Manchester United home game on December 16.

"Despite speculation in today's newspapers, there is nothing new to say," it read. "We had a good win yesterday and have got some very important games coming up starting with Porto on Wednesday, followed by Bolton and Reading, before Marseille and Manchester United in a few weeks. Both of us, together with the chief executive Rick Parry, plan to meet with Rafa when we come over mid-December to make decisions on the team's requirements at that time."

The warring factions last met following the home draw with Arsenal on October 28 when, following extensive talks on the club's transfer strategy for January and the proposed £400m stadium on Stanley Park, their working relationship was repaired to harmonious levels. It had been strained since May, when Benítez first attacked spending policy in the wake of the European Cup final defeat by Milan and when he was in a far more powerful position with the fledgling owners than he is now.

"After that meeting, something changed," added Benítez at St James'. "They said to me, 'Rafa, concentrate on coaching and training the team because Rick Parry will be in charge of buying and selling players.' So now I will wait and maybe we will lose some targets."

The relationship has deteriorated with astonishing speed in the past week and Benítez's future may well be decided before he meets Gillett and Hicks in 20 days' time. Their fate in the Champions League will be decided by December 11 - they play in Marseille on that date and entertain Porto on Wednesday in must-win fixtures - and the Americans will not release substantial funds if they are out.

Liverpool supporters, meanwhile, are considering staging a protest against the co-chairmen during the Porto game.